No regrets

As difficult as it was (in ways) to admit to myself that I had not met the North Carolina State Fair deadline for the second year running, there were ways in which it was not, because even though I really wanted to get it done, I also want the project to meet it’s full potential, and it was not possible in the time that remained. After all the time I have put into it, when I am finally done, I want to have no regrets.

At the heart of my problem — both this year and last — was (fittingly) the center panel.

My original vision was not so much a “vision” as a nebulous sense of what I wanted, a feeling that I would know it when I saw it.

Of course, in order to see it, I needed to make it.

So there has been a lot of trial and error worked into this panel. Things I thought would work that didn’t, and then eventually settling on the most labor intensive design I have ever thought to crochet.

One of the challenges I have been facing are the gaps that are created when crocheting crazy quilt pieces.

The pieces crocheted are, of necessity, a variety of sizes and shapes, and it it up to me to make those shapes fit together.

Sometimes it goes swimmingly, and other times you end up with a space like the one shown at the bottom of the photo:

crochet crazy quilt gap to be filled so that there are no regrets
A gap to be filled so that there are no regrets

The first problem I encountered was where to begin.

Drawing from my munificent stash of index cards in a wide variety of sizes, I grabbed one of the larger ones and used it to cover “the gap”:

template for crochet pieces
Fashioning a template from an index card

I then used a pen to outline the shape of “the gap” and drew some lines through it to demarcate potential shapes.

I decided to work from left to right, making a triangle-isa piece with a bit of a curve.

After several tries with my 5.5 mm hook and a mint green yarn, I eventually had a piece that fit:

mint green crochet piece
The mint green piece in situ

but the interplay of the mint with the other colors was not what I thought it would be, so I set the freshly made shape aside, got out some Red Heart Super Saver guava and crocheted a second piece like the one I had just made:

guava green crochet piece
The same piece in guava

I was much happier with the interplay of the guava with the colors around it, so I then moved onto make another piece to fill the gap, and after four attempts that didn’t work out in various ways, I finally hit on one that worked:

purple crochet crazy quilt piece
A medium purple strip

This sort of a project is not for the faint of heart or those in a hurry, but when I have crocheted the last stitch, woven in the last end, and trimmed all the lose threads, there will be no regrets.

7 thoughts on “No regrets

  1. So sorry you didn’t make the deadline but you’re right not to rush this. It will be so much better since you haven’t hurried through it.

  2. Wise decision!

    In creating a work of art, rushing to meet a deadline can lessen the quality of the work. Since the quality of your creations is incredible, I’m so glad you were true to yourself and not to a deadline.

  3. “All things come to us when we are ready”. Keep creating your beautiful design at your own pace u till you’re happy w/it. Be true to your vision! This project has never been about a deadline or the NC State Fair. It’s about bringing the past to life. You are a self nominated “memory keeper” & this project is about giving your ancestors a “voice”.

  4. Couldn’t agree more with the above comments! Also in awe of your patience with the fiddly work this looks to be.

  5. No ribbon? You learned a lot, pursued the creative process and listened to your inner muse. That is a gold ribbon to me. We cheered you on and we were impressed. You can know share some of the pieces with us.

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